The coronavirus

what dreams said:

mrussel1 said:

One more thing @bbiggs, I am an advocate for some of the modified schedules I've seen bantied about.  Like cutting class size in half and only half the children attend on a given day, and you work from home the other day.  I'd be okay with sending my daughter into school like that.  I would not be okay with 'normal school' like Trump and Devos are currently pushing.  I'm confident my state of VA won't be so reckless. 

I just watched my school board meeting where the school division task force shared four detail options and how they would work: 100%  attend 4 dyas a week; 50% attend 2 days a week; 25% attend 1 day a week; 100% online. It's such a mess. The only thing I know for certain is that regardless of which option the board votes on next week, I will have a professional development day every Monday. The school board will decide next week.

From a teaching/learning viewpoint, the hybrid models look to be the worst, in my view. The sample schedules they shared for every age group were confusing as hell. The continuity of instruction would be very difficult to maintain if a student is part of a cohort that attends only Thurs/Fri each week, for example. There would be five days before the kid comes back into the building. That's a long gap each week, with varying degrees of supervision and work completion at home in between. Your child would return to a class almost a week later where a teacher most likely would spend the time catching up all the kids who did nothing for the week in between. Not to mention -- the daily schedule would be so disjointed to get all the subjects covered into two days, that kids will have difficulty knowing where they're going week to week. You know how long it takes a middle school kid to figure out a new class schedule at the beginning of the year? Compound that by not doing it every day. 

Also, as a teacher, I don't see how I can effectively plan for/teach live students at the same time I'm planning for/monitoring online instruction. There's just not enough time in the day -- these glorious Mondays I see they have planned for us will be filled up with meetings or online extra help sessions, no real quality planning or grading time. In all this time since we disbanded in March, I still have had practically zero training in effective online learning. The pre-recorded videos we made as a department in the spring took weeks to develop for just one lesson. Each of us was responsible for creating only one over a six-week period (six person department). It took me weeks to create something meaningful and professional; thank god mine was due the fifth week. I'm not a damned videographer, and the district pointed us to some free crap software with 30 minutes of training on it. Nothing has changed since then.

I have been thinking about this a lot and following the task force in my division closely, reading the VDOE receommendations, attending online seminars with the VDOE, etc. In my view, it would be best for kids to go all in, or go all online. I have my preference -- to go back Tues-Fri with everyone -- but I will do what I'm told and make the best of it.

Long way of saying,  everybody out there just needs to accept that this coming school year is another one shot down the hole. Be thankful if you make it out healthy and alive. That's all I'm planning for. 

OnWis97 said:

pjl44 said:

There's a real compelling case for how schools can operate safely.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/school-openings-across-globe-suggest-ways-keep-coronavirus-bay-despite-outbreaks

Maybe there is.  But you can’t honestly believe our president and secretary of education are pushing this because of their interest in education.  The ulterior motivates (and potential extortion) make it more likely that schools will open in a hasty fashion.

mrussel1 said:

what dreams said:

mrussel1 said:

One more thing @bbiggs, I am an advocate for some of the modified schedules I've seen bantied about.  Like cutting class size in half and only half the children attend on a given day, and you work from home the other day.  I'd be okay with sending my daughter into school like that.  I would not be okay with 'normal school' like Trump and Devos are currently pushing.  I'm confident my state of VA won't be so reckless. 

I just watched my school board meeting where the school division task force shared four detail options and how they would work: 100%  attend 4 dyas a week; 50% attend 2 days a week; 25% attend 1 day a week; 100% online. It's such a mess. The only thing I know for certain is that regardless of which option the board votes on next week, I will have a professional development day every Monday. The school board will decide next week.

From a teaching/learning viewpoint, the hybrid models look to be the worst, in my view. The sample schedules they shared for every age group were confusing as hell. The continuity of instruction would be very difficult to maintain if a student is part of a cohort that attends only Thurs/Fri each week, for example. There would be five days before the kid comes back into the building. That's a long gap each week, with varying degrees of supervision and work completion at home in between. Your child would return to a class almost a week later where a teacher most likely would spend the time catching up all the kids who did nothing for the week in between. Not to mention -- the daily schedule would be so disjointed to get all the subjects covered into two days, that kids will have difficulty knowing where they're going week to week. You know how long it takes a middle school kid to figure out a new class schedule at the beginning of the year? Compound that by not doing it every day. 

Also, as a teacher, I don't see how I can effectively plan for/teach live students at the same time I'm planning for/monitoring online instruction. There's just not enough time in the day -- these glorious Mondays I see they have planned for us will be filled up with meetings or online extra help sessions, no real quality planning or grading time. In all this time since we disbanded in March, I still have had practically zero training in effective online learning. The pre-recorded videos we made as a department in the spring took weeks to develop for just one lesson. Each of us was responsible for creating only one over a six-week period (six person department). It took me weeks to create something meaningful and professional; thank god mine was due the fifth week. I'm not a damned videographer, and the district pointed us to some free crap software with 30 minutes of training on it. Nothing has changed since then.

I have been thinking about this a lot and following the task force in my division closely, reading the VDOE receommendations, attending online seminars with the VDOE, etc. In my view, it would be best for kids to go all in, or go all online. I have my preference -- to go back Tues-Fri with everyone -- but I will do what I'm told and make the best of it.

Long way of saying,  everybody out there just needs to accept that this coming school year is another one shot down the hole. Be thankful if you make it out healthy and alive. That's all I'm planning for. 

If we go back full out, what's the point of dropping the Monday from teh schedule?  Isn't it just BAU at that point since everyone is together?

what dreams said:

mrussel1 said:

what dreams said:

mrussel1 said:

One more thing @bbiggs, I am an advocate for some of the modified schedules I've seen bantied about.  Like cutting class size in half and only half the children attend on a given day, and you work from home the other day.  I'd be okay with sending my daughter into school like that.  I would not be okay with 'normal school' like Trump and Devos are currently pushing.  I'm confident my state of VA won't be so reckless. 

I just watched my school board meeting where the school division task force shared four detail options and how they would work: 100%  attend 4 dyas a week; 50% attend 2 days a week; 25% attend 1 day a week; 100% online. It's such a mess. The only thing I know for certain is that regardless of which option the board votes on next week, I will have a professional development day every Monday. The school board will decide next week.

From a teaching/learning viewpoint, the hybrid models look to be the worst, in my view. The sample schedules they shared for every age group were confusing as hell. The continuity of instruction would be very difficult to maintain if a student is part of a cohort that attends only Thurs/Fri each week, for example. There would be five days before the kid comes back into the building. That's a long gap each week, with varying degrees of supervision and work completion at home in between. Your child would return to a class almost a week later where a teacher most likely would spend the time catching up all the kids who did nothing for the week in between. Not to mention -- the daily schedule would be so disjointed to get all the subjects covered into two days, that kids will have difficulty knowing where they're going week to week. You know how long it takes a middle school kid to figure out a new class schedule at the beginning of the year? Compound that by not doing it every day. 

Also, as a teacher, I don't see how I can effectively plan for/teach live students at the same time I'm planning for/monitoring online instruction. There's just not enough time in the day -- these glorious Mondays I see they have planned for us will be filled up with meetings or online extra help sessions, no real quality planning or grading time. In all this time since we disbanded in March, I still have had practically zero training in effective online learning. The pre-recorded videos we made as a department in the spring took weeks to develop for just one lesson. Each of us was responsible for creating only one over a six-week period (six person department). It took me weeks to create something meaningful and professional; thank god mine was due the fifth week. I'm not a damned videographer, and the district pointed us to some free crap software with 30 minutes of training on it. Nothing has changed since then.

I have been thinking about this a lot and following the task force in my division closely, reading the VDOE receommendations, attending online seminars with the VDOE, etc. In my view, it would be best for kids to go all in, or go all online. I have my preference -- to go back Tues-Fri with everyone -- but I will do what I'm told and make the best of it.

Long way of saying,  everybody out there just needs to accept that this coming school year is another one shot down the hole. Be thankful if you make it out healthy and alive. That's all I'm planning for. 

If we go back full out, what's the point of dropping the Monday from teh schedule?  Isn't it just BAU at that point since everyone is together?

Good question.

No, it's not back to usual on a 100% back plan. Daily schedules would have to change because of social distancing.

For example, we will have to stagger bell times to decrease numbers of students in the hall,  probably lengthening exchange times and lunch times to accommodate. It's possible start and end times will be staggered in the morning and afternoon because of social distancing on the buses. Class sizes will be reduced for social distancing as well, which means teachers will lose their planning period everyday to make up for the need to increase their course load. Monday planning would be critical. If there is ever a time we need it, it's now. We're going to have to completely rethink how we deliver instruction to minimize contact. I can tell you, respecting adequate planning time has always been a contention between teachers and administrators. If we lost it altogether, I guarantee there will be massive pushback from teachers, who are as divided as everybody else on what to do.

Logistically, it makes more sense to do the hybrid to allow for all the distancing. For teachers personally, however, being more at risk than the kids, it doesn't matter. We are still exposed to all of them, whether they are there 1, 2, or 4 days a week. Might as well just see them Tues-Fri to maximize their learning, is the way I see it. Of course, families see it differently. Their lives are more important than the teachers', so there is that to contend with.

Most concerning to me right now is that we don't even have a SCHOOL NURSE to replace the one who decided to retire in the spring. Three core departments--math, English, and science--still have multiple positions to fill in each dept because people left for "better" schools, and I predict more will take LOA or just quit as we approach. We're scheduled to open, for teachers, in three weeks -- understaffed, still no decision, and inadequate training on everything essential for these new times. 

This is kind of typical in education anyway, but the current challenge really has the potential to decimate our school systems. We have created a growing massive teacher shortage due to our culture's hateful language toward teachers and "failing schools" since the inception of No Child Left Behind. You reap what you sow, as they say.

oftenreading said:

what dreams said:

Oh, and also most concerning, I teach in a school whose windows are BOLTED SHUT. Can't open any of them to get fresh air. Years ago, a student decided to slam a window down on another student's hand. That student lost a finger. Family sued the school, blaming the failure to control the windows. The result? Punish everybody and bolt the windows shut. 

Now that I'm hearing about the aerosols and the air conditioning, I am really nervous.

I know a number of modern buildings have windows that don't open, since that messes with the HVAC system. 

However, I've never met a school that had a properly functioning HVAC system, so that's clearly not the issue. Craziness to not allow fresh air in. 

what dreams said:

mrussel1 said:

One more thing @bbiggs, I am an advocate for some of the modified schedules I've seen bantied about.  Like cutting class size in half and only half the children attend on a given day, and you work from home the other day.  I'd be okay with sending my daughter into school like that.  I would not be okay with 'normal school' like Trump and Devos are currently pushing.  I'm confident my state of VA won't be so reckless. 

I just watched my school board meeting where the school division task force shared four detail options and how they would work: 100%  attend 4 dyas a week; 50% attend 2 days a week; 25% attend 1 day a week; 100% online. It's such a mess. The only thing I know for certain is that regardless of which option the board votes on next week, I will have a professional development day every Monday. The school board will decide next week.

From a teaching/learning viewpoint, the hybrid models look to be the worst, in my view. The sample schedules they shared for every age group were confusing as hell. The continuity of instruction would be very difficult to maintain if a student is part of a cohort that attends only Thurs/Fri each week, for example. There would be five days before the kid comes back into the building. That's a long gap each week, with varying degrees of supervision and work completion at home in between. Your child would return to a class almost a week later where a teacher most likely would spend the time catching up all the kids who did nothing for the week in between. Not to mention -- the daily schedule would be so disjointed to get all the subjects covered into two days, that kids will have difficulty knowing where they're going week to week. You know how long it takes a middle school kid to figure out a new class schedule at the beginning of the year? Compound that by not doing it every day. 

Also, as a teacher, I don't see how I can effectively plan for/teach live students at the same time I'm planning for/monitoring online instruction. There's just not enough time in the day -- these glorious Mondays I see they have planned for us will be filled up with meetings or online extra help sessions, no real quality planning or grading time. In all this time since we disbanded in March, I still have had practically zero training in effective online learning. The pre-recorded videos we made as a department in the spring took weeks to develop for just one lesson. Each of us was responsible for creating only one over a six-week period (six person department). It took me weeks to create something meaningful and professional; thank god mine was due the fifth week. I'm not a damned videographer, and the district pointed us to some free crap software with 30 minutes of training on it. Nothing has changed since then.

I have been thinking about this a lot and following the task force in my division closely, reading the VDOE receommendations, attending online seminars with the VDOE, etc. In my view, it would be best for kids to go all in, or go all online. I have my preference -- to go back Tues-Fri with everyone -- but I will do what I'm told and make the best of it.

Long way of saying,  everybody out there just needs to accept that this coming school year is another one shot down the hole. Be thankful if you make it out healthy and alive. That's all I'm planning for.